Modern combustion engines generally include at least one cylinder, a cylinder head for said cylinder, and a piston that may reciprocate within said cylinder. A combustion chamber is defined and delimited by the piston, cylinder, and the cylinder head. Fuel (such as diesel fuel) may be injected by a fuel injector as a fuel charge into the combustion chamber for combustion. Such fuel injectors may include one or more orifices that facilitate the injection of the fuel charge into the combustion chamber.
A manner in which the fuel charge is injected and introduced into the combustion chamber may impact a mixing and/or an interaction of the fuel charge with the air and elements within the combustion chamber. Some injection patterns, for example, may cause overpenetration of the fuel charge and thereby cause an increased interaction of the fuel charge with walls of the cylinder, in turn leading to inadequate mixing of the fuel charge with the air and the elements. As a result, the engine may suffer heat loss, formation of a relatively large amount of soot within the cylinders, and increased emissions.
European Patent No. 2,808,533 ('533 reference) discloses a nozzle body of a fuel injector. The nozzle body includes a spray hole that axially extends throughout a wall of the nozzle body. The '533 reference also discloses that in a vicinity of its entry, an elongated section of the spray hole is oval or elliptical or oblong.